Acid-concentrating apparatus.



LPATT EN. ACID CONCENTRATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED APR. I9. 19!]. RENEWEDYAUG. 26.1918.

1,286,080. Patented Nov. '26, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

J. PATTEN.

ACID CQNCENTBATING A/PPARATUS. APPLICATION mm APR. 19, m1. RVENEVIED AUG. 26. ma.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. PATTEN.

ACID CONCENTRA'HNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED m1. I9. 1911. nguswzn we. 26. ms.

1,286,080. v I Patented 0;. 26, 1918.

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J. PATTEN.

ACID CONCENTRAHNG APPARATUS.

APPLICATION men APR.|9.19H- RENEWED AUG. 26. 1912. 1,286,080.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

I/V1111 no an STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' JOI-IN PATTEN, or BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

AGID-CONCENTRATING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 19, 1917, Serial No. 163,269.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN PATTEN; a citizen of the United States, residing at Balti more, and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acidconeentrating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to acid concentrating apparatus and more particularly to such apparatus used for concentrating weak or dilute sulfuric acid which has absorbed water vapor in a vacuum ice making apparatus, and consists in certain radical improvements in an apparatus of this type described in my Patents Numbers 676,663 and 67 6,664.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide an apparatus which will operate a maximum length of time before requiring repairs or adjustments and in which the interior parts are accessible for inspection and repairs merely by lifting off a few parts. In order to accomplish these objects the lead lining for the shell of the container is provided with means supporting it at its top edge to thus avoid buckling; the containers at the top thereof are each formed with a vapor passage and nozzles so that the passage may be continuous from one end of the apparatus to the other; the vapor passage is separated from the top portion of the shell by a partition which may be removed merely by lifting the same ofi its supports; the top of the shell is provided with a cover which can be lifted ofi and which is protected on the interior thereof by a removable lead dome; the inlet and outlet pipes of the coils within the containers are arranged to pass out through the shell at one side of the top cover so that the cover and the above mentioned partition may both be removed without disturbing the pipes, and if it is necessary to remove the coils, it is only necessary to cut the said pipesat a point adjacent a where they pass through the shell; the pipes for conducting the acid from one container to the next enter the containers at the bottom thereof and have well rounded bends therein so as to easily take up any expansion and contraction of parts. These pipes are surrounded and protected by casings which are carried by the inclined bottoms of the shells, thus aifording a drain and means for collecting any acid leakage; the bottom of the lead liner is flat and is supported so as Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

Renewed August 26, 1918. Serial No. 251,543.

to be maintained fiat by a plurality of plates, some of which are movably mounted on rollers supported by'the inclined or conical bottoms in spaced relation thereto so as to permit any acid leakage to drain to the low part of the bottom without coming in contact with the rollers; and all the exposed surfaces of the vapor passages are protected by acid resisting linings. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the description taken in connection with the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of the acid concentrating apparatus and shows a series of containers.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the containers shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the right hand container shown in Fig. 1.

4t is a sectional elevation of two containers intermediate the end containers, parts of one of the containers being cut away taken substantially on a longitudinal center line represented by the line 4.i of Fig. 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken substantially on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view showing the yielding means for supporting the top edge of the lead liner and taken sub stantially on the line 66 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 7 is a similar enlarged sectional view taken substantially on the line 77 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view taken substantially on the line 88 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the supporting plates at the bottom of the shell, some of the plates being broken away in order to show the roller supporting lugs on the bot- 7 served that the apparatus consists essen tially of a series of containers A which are each supported on uprights B. The elevation of the first or left hand container as viewed in Fig. 1 is the greatest, each of the containers toward the right being a little ter.

lower than its predecessor in order to cause a circulation of the acid'from the left toward the right. The acid is fed to the first container through a pipe C and withdrawn from the last container through a pipe D and is conducted from one container to the next by pipes E which will be described in detail hereinafter. Each of the containers has a heating coil arranged therein and the acid is maintained at such height that the coils are immersed therein. Steam for heating these coils is taken from the steam headerT through the small pipes G and H and the steam and condensate are withdrawn from the coils through the small pipes I and J into a return condensed steam header K. Suitable valves are provided for controlling the circulation of the entering live steam and the returned steam and wa- The first or left hand container is not supplied with live steam as are the others but the medium for heating the coils consists of the steam and water which are fed to the coils of this container through the small pipes L and M leading out of the condensed steam header K. The steam and water from the coils of the first container are withdrawn through the small pipes N and O to a header P which is connected with the receiver pump Q. The top portions of the containers are provided with diametrically oppositely arranged nozzles R- and S which are adapted to be connected to corresponding nozzles on the adjacent containers,. thus forming a vapor passage which is continuous through the tops of all the containers. The nozzle on the final container is adapted to be connected to a condenser or vacuum pump so that the interior of all the containers is maintained at as high a vacuum as is commercially practical. Thus the water vapor will be taken off at a relatively low temperature.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the container is of a substantially cylindrical shape and has a shell portion which is preferably made of cast iron. At its lower edge this shell portion 20 is flanged and carries an inclined bottom 21 which is of a general conical shape and is formed with a pair of nozzles 22 and 23 at the lower portion thereof. This bottom is provided with a plurality of circularly arranged series of upstanding lugs 24, the lugs in any one series being spaced circumferentially to provide passages 25 therebetween. The top surfaces of these lugs 24 are flush and are adapted to support rollers 26 carried by the sector plates 27.

The interior of the body portion of the shell 20 is protected by a lead lining 28. The bottom edges of this lining 28 are flanged inwardly as at 29 and are fused or burned to a fiat bottom piece 30. This bottom of the liner 28 is fiat and is adapted to be supported so that it will be maintained Hat by a central circular. plate 31 supported on the bottom 21 by means of the standard 32, and a series of sector plates 27 which are arranged around the central plate 31 with a slight clearance circmferentially between the plates and also with a radial clearance so that the plates can move slightly in a radial direction. Thes sector plates are supported so that their top surfaces are flush with the top surface of the central plate 31 by the rollers 26 which rest on the lugs 2 1 previously described. The central plate 31 is formed with two apertures 33 and 34, the aperture 33 being in line with the nozzle 22 and the aperture 3 1 being in line with the nozzle A lead pipe E is fused to the bottom of the lead liner and extends through the aperture 33 down through the nozzle 22, then is formed With a well rounded bend, thence proceeds horizontally, then is bent to extend upwardly through the nozzle 23 of the next container through the aperture 3 1 and has its end fused to the bottom of the lead lining of the latter container. An upwardly projecting pipe 35 is fused to the top of the pipe E over the aperture 31 and projects vertically high enough so that the acid will be maintained in the container at a levelsuflicient to immerse the heating coils. The portions of the pipes E between the nozzles 22 and '23 are surrounded by a casing which may be made by the two sections 36 and 37. The section 36 is adapted to be joined to the nozzles 22 and 23 and the section 37 is fastened to the section 36 so that it may be removed to permit access to the pipe E. At one end the section 37, which in effect constitutes a. trough, is provided with a receptacle 38 connected to the section 37 by a pipe 39. Thus acid which flows into the trough 37 will drain through the pipe 39 into a receptacle 38 which may be emptied as desired. In order to clearly indicate the amount of acid in'the receptacle 38, the walls 40 may be glass if desired. As the left hand container as viewed in Fig. 4 is lower than the right hand container, a spacer 11 is inserted between the nozzle 22 and the connecting portion of the section 36 of the easing. It will be apparent from the above description that if any acid gets between the liner 28 and the shell 20 that it will flow downwardly and because of the inclined bottom 21 will pass down through the nozzles 22 and 23 and collect in the bot tom sections 37 of the casing surrounding the pipes E. As the acid is liable to stand or collect in the sections 37, they may be protected by a lead lining 12. 'The other surfaces just mentioned being inclined or vertical, the acid flows over the same and does not remain long enough to cause any serious damage. The rollers 26 which support the movable sector plates 27 have been mounted on the lugs 24: so that they will not have any acid come in contact with them.-

Ithas been found that when the rollers rest on a bottom over which the acid flows that the sulfate of iron formed prevents the rollers from moving and in time, enough sulfate is formed so as to push the movable plates 27 upwardly and buckle the bottom of the lead liner. It will be obvious that because of the inclined bottom 21 and the method of mounting the rollers that this detrimental feature is overcome. F urther more the bottom of the lead liner is supported so that it is flat and consequently there are no bending stresses set up in the same which take place when the support for the said bottom is not flat. By connecting the containers by a pipe joined to the bottom of the lead liners and having Well rounded bends therein, the expansion and contraction of the containers and the pipe are taken up in the pipe without any injury whatever to the connections of the same with the lead lining. It will be very clear that this is a very important feature and that this construction overcomes the trouble which fol lows leaky joints in the pipes joining the containers. Moreover, the joining pipes E are surrounded by casings so that they are protected and at the same time these casings form collectors for the acid leakage.

Referring to Figs. 4, and 6,'it will be noted that the top edge d3 of the liner 28 has fused thereto an outwardly extending flange 4A, and this flange has formed therewith the annular lips a5 and 46. The flange 4:4 is adapted to rest on a ring 47 which is supported by a series of four springs 48 arranged in pockets to in the shell. It will be apparent that these springs 48 exert an upward force on the liner 28, thereby keeping it under slight tension as it expands upwardly when heated. When the liner cools and contracts, the ring at which carries a plurality of spaced rivets 50 is supported by the rivets and annular shoulder 51 formed in the shell. It is obvious that as the rivets are spaced around the ring, that any acid which may percolate down by the lips l5 and 46 can flow through between the rivets and will not be pocketed on the shoulder 51. As shown in the drawings, two heating coils 52 and 53 are mounted on supports 54 and 55 carried by the bottom of the liner, these supports being arranged so that they are directly over the sector plates 27. These coils have the inlet pipes 56 and 57 and the discharge or outlet pipes 58 and 59. As clearly shown in Figs. 5 and 8, these pipes are bent so that they extend upwardly at one side of the liner, for a purpose presently to be described. As previously mentioned the top portion of the shell 20 is formed with two diametrically opposite nozzles R and S,

thus forming a vapor passage through the top of the container. This vapor passage is separated from the body portion of the shell by a partition. As clearly shown in Fig. 5, this partition consists of two parts, one of which has the pipes 56, 57, 58 and 59 extending therethrough and the other of which is dome shaped and formed with perforations. The first part consists of a segmental lead plate 60 which at its circumferential edge is supported on a circular lead covered iron bar 61 carried by the top of the liner and at its other edge is supported by a lead covered iron bar 62. This lead plate 60 is formed with a plurality of apertures through which the inlet and outlet pipes of the heating coils extend. The bar 62 has fused there to a ledge or flange 63 which forms a support for the adjacent edge of the other part of the partition. As clearly shown in Figs. 4 and 5, this second part of the partition consists of two dome shaped perforated baflle plates 6% and 65. The plate 65 is provided with a peripheral vertically extending flange 66 and the plate is supported at its circumferential edge by the top of the liner 2S and at its segmental edge by the ledge 63 and the bar 62. The other baflle plate 64 at its circumferential edge is formed with a vertical downwardly extending flange 67 which is supported by the edge portions of the plate 65. As clearly shown in Fig. 5 the plate 65 is formed with a plurality of apertures 68 for the passage of the water vapor. if any acid should pass through the apertures 68 due to the violent ebullition which takes place in the container it will strike the upper baffle plate Get and thus be deflected to the peripheral edges of the baffle plates where it can flow through the peripheral apertures 69 back into the container. The vapor which passes through the apertures 68 continues upwardly and passes out through the apertures 7 0 formed in the sides of the cylindrical top 71. If any acid should happen to pass through these latter apertures it will strike against the cylindrical shell 72 and be deflected so that it will flow back throu h the apertures 73. Because of these ba e plates a vapor which is almost free from acid will be discharged into the vapor passage. However, in order that the iron shell and parts which surround the vapor passage may have as long a life as possible, all of the surfaces are protected with lead liners.

The means for connecting the top of the shell liner 28 and the liner for the vapor passage is shown in Fig. 6. The vapor passage liner 74: is bent inwardly at 75 and is spaced away from the shell by the spacing ring 76. The liner 74 extends downward and laps over the lip 45 previously described and carried by the main liner 28. Thus it will be apparent that a telescopic joint is provided between the two lining means and that this joint permits relative expansion wardly so as to clear the ring 89.

great utility.

\ and contraction of the liners and at the same with the iron pipes 82.

The top of the shell is formed with an annular groove 83 Wl11Cl1 may have a rubber packing 8st arranged in the same and is adapted to receive the downwardly extend ing flange 85 of the convex cover 86. At the center, this cover is pro ided with a threaded hole 87 for a screw eyelet, whereby it may be lifted off. In order to protect this iron cover 86, a convex dome 88 is arranged just below the same and supported at its peripheral edge portions by a lead ring 89 which is fused to the lead liner of the vapor passage. Thus it will be apparent by merely lifting off the cover 86 of the dome 88 that access may be had to the vapor passage. and if it is desired to inspect the coils that it is only necessary to lift oil the dome shaped partition. If it is necessary to remove the coils then the inlet and outlet pipes may be cut at a point indicated by 90 and bent in Then the coils may be lifted directly upward and out of the container.

In the operation of the apparatus, dilute acidis constantly fed through the pipe C into the first container A, in which it is subj ected to the heat abstracted from the steam in the heating coils. As high a vacuum as is commercially practical is maintained in the containers so that the water is boiled off at a. low temperature. A constant circulation of the acid through the containers is maintained and it is gradually concentrated in the successive containers and finally discharged through the pipe D after it has reached the proper concentration which is usually about or 61 degrees Baum.

The improvements herein described are very important from a practical standpoint. The feature of supporting the top edge of the main liner of the container has very In devices as heretofore constructed without means for supporting this top edge, it has been found that the cylindrical lead lining, as it is subjected to alternate expansions and contractions buckles inward, and finally crystallizes and breaks in many places. Furthermore when the liner is secured to the shell by rivets, the alternate expansion and contraction produces such a strain that the lead soon liner.

crystallizes and tears. The structure herein described however, permits the lead .to

removably mounting the top cover and the interior partition, the coils may be quickly and easily removed when necessary. The provision of the U-shaped pipe E connecting the bottoms of the successive tanks permits relative expansion and contraction without in any way loosening or injuring the connection of the ends of this pipe and the respec tive container bottoms. The inclined iron bottom of the containers with the particular means for supporting and maintaining the bottom of the lead liners flat are very important features. In p actice it is found practically impossible to prevent acid from getting in between the lead linersand the shell. The particular form of the bottom of the containers thus affords a very eilicient means for draining acid which thus escapes and collecting it in the casings which surround the connector pipes E. Furthermore by maintaining the bottom supporting rollers 26 above the inclined surfaces of the container bottoms they are out of contact with any acid and are not subjected to the action of thesame.

Although the improvements havebeen described. in great detail, it is obvious that the details thereof may be varied to considerable extent without departing from the spirit of the invention. i

Having described the invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent isz I I 1. In an acid concentrating apparatus including a shell, a liner for said shellyand yielding means for supporting the top of the 2. In an acid concentrating apparatus including a shell, a liner for said shell, means for supporting the top of the linerwhen cold, said means including a ring at the upper edge of theliner. and a supporting ring arranged under the first mentioned ring and carried by the shell.

3. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a

shell having a removable cover, a pair of oppositely arranged nozzles projecting from the sides near the top thereof, a liner for the shell having itstop edges below the nozzles, and a removable perforated partition carried by the top of the liner. i

j l. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a shell having a vapor chamber with a passage through the sides near the top thereof. lining means for said chamber, a linertfor the remaining part of the shell, and means for connecting said liner and lining means constructed and arranged to permit relative expansion and contraction of the parts.

5. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a shell having a vapor chamber with a passage through the sides near the top thereof, lining means for said chamber, a liner for the remaining part of the shell, and means for connecting said liner and lining means constructed and arranged to permit relative expansion and contraction of the parts, said means including a telescoping joint.

6. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a shell having a vapor chamber with a passage through the sides near the top thereof, lining means for said chamber, a liner for the remaining part of the shell, and means for connecting said liner and lining means constructed and arranged to permit relative expansion and contraction of the parts, said means including a lip formed on the lining means and spaced from the shell, a lip carried by the liner at the top thereof and offset outside of the same and arranged to contact with the first lip and slide in the space formed between the latter and the shell.

7. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a shell including a body portion and a portion at the top thereof forming a vapor chamber. a liner for said body portion having a removable partition at the top thereof forming the bottom of the vapor chamber, a removable cover at the top of the shell and a removable dome liner for said cover, the parts being constructed and arranged for easy and quick removal for inspection or repair.

8. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a shell including a body portion and a portion at the top thereof forming a vapor chamber, said top portion having two oppositely arranged nozzles and the shell having an out- Wardly projecting part forming a lateral chamber constituting part of the vapor chamber, a heating coil arranged in the body portion of the shell and having inlet and outlet pipes extending upward and bent to extend through a Wall of said lateral chamher, a removablepartition over the coil and forming the bottom Wall of the vapor chamber, and a removable top cover for the shell, the parts being constructed and arranged to permit the coil to be removed merely by cutting the inlet and outlet pipes in the said chamber.

9. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a cylindrical shell having a lining, a heating coil located therein, a baffle partition over the coil consisting of a small segmental part and a perforated domed part, the inlet and outlet pipes to the coil passing through the segmental part, and the domed part being removable to give access to the coil.

10. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a cylindrical shell having a lining, a heating coil located therein, a baffle partition over the coil supported by the lining consisting of a small segmental part and a perforated domed part, the inlet and outlet pipes to the coil. passing through the segmental part, and the domed part being removable to give access to the coil.

11. In an acid concentrating apparatus, a cylindrical shell having a lining, a heating coil located therein, a bafile partition over the coil consisting of a small segmental part and a perforated domed part, the inlet and outlet pipes to the coil passing through the segmental part, the domed part being removable to give access to the coil, and means for supporting the partition on the lining including a bar carried at its ends by the lining and supporting the adjacent edges of the tWo parts of the partition.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

JOHN PATTEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

